Highland Park Sports Club

October 9, 2015October 9, 2015

HP vs Mesquite Horn — 7:30pm Kickoff Tonight!

Kirk Dooley’s Blog

For those of you who set your watches 12 months ago for 7:30, Friday, October 9, 2015, your alarm is about to go off. The HP-Horn game is finally here at Highlander Stadium.

After last year’s 42-27 loss to the Jaguars, the Scots players and coaches circled 10-9-15 on their calendars and pledged to avenge HP’s only district loss, which gave the 10-6A championship to Horn. It was only the third district loss by the Scots under Randy Allen’s reign, which began in 1999. but it still burns in the guts of the Scots who played last year.

The 2014 loss was no fluke. Horn had one of the best teams in the state. Last year the Jaguars were loaded with D-1 talent and this year they’ve reloaded with more. The biggest difference is that the player who commandeered the airspace above the Scots secondary last season – Jarrison Stewart – has graduated and is already terrorizing Big 12 DBs as a freshman wide receiver for the TCU Horned Frogs. He’s now catching passes for Heisman Trophy candidate Trevone Boykin, including five catches for 88 yards against Texas Tech.

Last season against the Scots, Stewart caught six Chris Robison passes for 120 yards and three touchdowns – 20 yards, 34 yards and 28 yards. In his spare time he returned a punt for 67 yards and another score.

When TCU plays the Oklahoma Sooners in 2018, I predict that Stewart will be the star TCU receiver and Robison will be the hot OU quarterback.

This year’s Horn offensive line boasts two 300 pounders and the defensive line has a couple more. The Jaguars have two wide receivers bigger than Dez Bryant. I’m not kidding. You will see for yourself.

Horn is larger and faster than Highland Park. Is has more players who will play on Saturday and some that might play on Sunday while most Scots will be watching NFL games on TV at the lake house.

HP coach Randy Allen and his staff know how talented Horn is. Facing the Jaguars’ offense is like facing the Baylor offense. It comes at you hard and fast from all angles. But the Scots feel like they will win this game and win the district championship. The HP players will be well prepared by the HP coaches, who will have a game plan that will give their players a fighting chance.

This is Highland Park football at its best. The Scots are playing a better team that is predicted to win. HP’s normal-sized, sort-of-fast, big-hearted athletes will come together as a team and challenge a squad of very real future college players. I feel like intangibles will dictate the winner of this game – HP’s winning attitude, an excited fan base at home, revenge from last year’s loss and a tradition of playing big in big games.

There could be 1,000 yards of total offense, 100 total points and the winner could be the last one with the ball. Take Jarrison Stewart off the field and this game could go either way. I predict that the Scots will surprise the Jaguars and whether that translates into a win will be determined by who has the ball last.

October 1, 2015

Lady Scots Volleyball at Pearce Friday, October 2nd – 5:30pm First Serve

Tomorrow HP Varsity Volleyball plays at 5:30 at Pearce. The Lady Scots would LOVE for HP Fans to come cheer for the team before heading to the HP Football game at 7:30 at Pearce. HP and Pearce are the only 2 undefeated teams in District 10-6A so this match will determine the District leader. Last year, HP’s only district losses were to Pearce… but the HP Scots have already beaten Pearce once this year in a pre-season tournament. Come support your Lady Scots as they battle for the District title.

The Scots are ranked #3 in Texas (LoneStarVB and Texas Coaches Association) and #4 in the Nation (MaxPreps).

October 1, 2015October 1, 2015

HP at J.J. Pearce October 2nd – 7:30pm Kickoff

Kirk Dooley’s Blog

Somebody needed to make a play and Turner Rejebian decided it would be him.

The Scots were having a hard time stopping a strong North Mesquite Stallion offense and time was running out last Friday night. The Stallions were up 27-21 and were driving down the field to ice the game. It didn’t look like the Scots’ new home winning streak would get off the ground.

Impossible-to-bottle-up quarterback Ja’Quez Gooch threw deep down the right sideline and Rejebian came down with the ball on the North Mesquite 10, giving the Scots a chance at wining the game. All it would take was a 90-yard drive and a PAT.

Henry Allen marched his team down the field with precision and on the 17th play of the drive, hit Mr. Cy McCullough in traffic with a 12-yard bullet to tie the score. Will Moore stepped in to win the game, 28-27.

In the first half, the Stallions were unstoppable except for one key play. They scored on each of their first four possessions but after the first touchdown, the extra point was blocked. Who would have guessed that it would wind up being the difference in the game?

The Scots defense has seen its share of great running backs and Dreshawn Minnieweather was one of the more punishing. He carried the ball 20 times for 136 yards and fell forward for several first downs.

Highland Park’s miniature version of Minnieweather, Stephen Dieb, ran 19 times for 119 yards and spun his way to extra yardage when the Scots needed it. Allen completed 50 percent of his passes for 212 yards and won the ESPY for his 12-yard shot to McCullough to win the game. When the referee raised his arms signaling the touchdown, more Mesquite hearts were broken than when Donnie Gay retired from bull riding.

This Friday the Scots travel to Eagle-Mustang Stadium in Richardson to battle their longtime rival, J.J. Pearce. The Mustangs are 2-2 and are coming off a heart-breaking 54-50 loss to crosstown rival Richardson. In that game, the Mustangs gained 585 total yards and the Eagles added 548. You would have though you stumbled into a Big 12 shootout.

Hank Hughes returns as the Pearce quarterback for what seems like the 10th year. Through the first four games he has completed 80 of 127 passes for 1,175 yards and leads the team in rushing. Like the Scots, the Mustangs have a herd of great receivers. Jake Griffin, De’Astone Barlow and Jack Brewer all have more than 200 receiving yards. Pearce is averaging 41 points per game, while the Scots are scoring 26.

All four of the Scots previous opponents – Frisco Centennial, Pulaski, Prosper and North Mesquite – have won all of their other games this season. These are all good teams, no cupcakes.

In Richardson, they still talk about the game in 2001 when Pearce beat HP in double overtime, handing Randy Allen his first district loss as the Scots coach. But Allen prefers to remember the 2010 Pearce game, when that victory made him the winningest coach in Highland Park history.